“The Alawite Tide Has Exploded” – A “Secular” Song For a “Secular” Regime?

Ben Allinson-Davies

October 20, 2014

When bearing in mind the allegedly "secular" nature of Bashar al-Assad’s regime… It might also be worth bearing in mind that Assad’s regime has utilised Alawi and Shiite sectarianism for decades (Assad’s own family hails from the Alawite sect, in an attempt to shore up the regime’s power base, and give it a reliable supply of cannon fodder from the minorities, fearful of repression should the regime fall.

This it has done with considerable success; frightening Alawites everywhere into believing that evil Sunni terrorists will somehow slaughter them wholesale if it falls. In many Alawite villages, practically every young man has joined regime militias, which, although they ostensibly have a secular, inclusive mentality, are actually vicious Alawite militia which genuinely believe that they are fighting an existential battle, such as the "National Defense Force" or the "Syrian Resistance".

Despite the nauseating levels of shilling (ironically, mainly from westerners who have lived in democratic societies all their lives) for such a sectarian regime, the regime is obviously as sectarian as it gets in the rank and file of its armed forces, and thus, is also viciously sectarian in its propaganda too – a fact which makes their support for the regime even more unbelievable, given that this sectarian poison is conspicuously posted all over the internet, on pro-regime social media sites; Facebook, YouTube, you name it.

For all of those still unconvinced by my claims, here’s a translation, via my Syrian friend Omar, and a friend who wishes to remain anonymous (my Arabic isn’t nearly good enough to do it, I’m afraid, although I’m working on it) of a pro-Assad song by now-infamous Lebanese singer Ali Barakat, former member of Hezbollah, who now makes very sectarian ditties for the group, in support of Assad’s genocidal campaign against his own people. It also features Ali Faraj, a lesser-known singer, and was written by Fares Saleh.

The title of the song, revealingly, is: Al-Mod al-Alawi Tfajer, which translates as simply: "The Alawite Tide Has Exploded". Read on to see how "secular" this regime truly is:

*Chorus*

"Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali…(1)

It is a finest land: the mother of Khaybar(2),
and God’s men are invincible.
No single Salafi nor Wahhabi (3) will be safe…
The tide of Alawites has exploded!

We will crush the dens of disbelievers (Sunnis),
the language of the armed men is Abbasi.(4)
Your revolution has become shreds,(5)
and the Umayyad dream is over now!(6)

Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali…

It is a finest land: the mother of Khaybar,
and God’s men are invincible.
No single Salafi nor Wahhabi will be safe…
The tide of Alawites has exploded!

Zaynab is the sister of the father of free people,(7)
in her tomb and under our eyes she stays up all night, every night.(8)
Soldiers of al-Nusra march forward,
we will cut you to pieces!

Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali…

It is a finest land: the mother of Khaybar
and God’s men are invincible.
No single Salafi nor Wahhabi will be safe…
The tide of Alawites has exploded!

Oh lion of our people (meaning Assad) go higher in "glory",(9)
you are our leader; hence we will never lose.
Oh Sham (Levant) Damascus, talk about our glories,
oh my people, get ready for the victory!

Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali…

*Repeat chorus*

We are the heroes of bloody wars,
We are like the Quran but recited at the slaughterhouse!(10)
We are your guardians oh Zainab,
We are your lion-cubs oh Haidar!

*Repeat chorus*

The bastards will never rule us,
the Alawi expansion has exploded!
Zainab will not be raped again,
I swear by the blood and the slaughterhouse!

*Repeat Chorus*

The bastards will never rule us,
the Alawi expansion has exploded!
Zainab will not be raped again,
I swear by the blood and the slaughterhouse!

(1) 'Ali’ is a reference to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) the cousin and son in law of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), revered in Shiism as the first imam after Muhammad (SAW).

(2) "Khaybar" refers to the famous battle in which the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his followers, when decisively outnumbered, defeated an army of Jews – it tends to be brought up by sectarian individuals on both sides of the Sunni/Shiite spectrum.

(3) Assad/Hezbollah/Iran supporters frequently refer to all their opponents as being Wahhabist or Salafist Muslims (an extremely conservative brand of Islam, oft with negative connotations when the former is used) without exception. This is also sectarian.

(4) A reference to Al-'Abbās ibn 'Ali (AS), son of Ali (AS), another revered figure in Shiite Islam. When reference is made to the language of the pro-Assad men as "Abbasi", this is also very sectarian – not only is he utterly refuting the line that the Assad regime and it’s army is secular and unites all faiths, but he is openly claiming that they are a Shiite army – since Sunnis are about 74% of the population, and he refers to the Sunni resistance fighters’ bases as "dens of kafirs" (unbelievers) this illustrates how the minority of the population has been mobilised to be used to slaughter the majority. Alawites/Shiites and others make up some 16% of the Syrian population, and other minorities make up 10%. Or rather they did, before Assad started to ethnically cleanse Sunnis wholesale via his Alawite "tide"…

(5) They openly admit that there is a revolution ongoing in Syria against the genocidal Assad regime, yet feels no shame whatsoever in sneering that the regime is ripping it (the Syrian people) to "shreds" to defend itself.

(6) The "Umayyad dream" is a reference to the caliphate of the Umayyads, which lasted between June 9, 746 – July, 750. It seems to be another way of saying that the Sunni dream is over, which again, explicitly shows Assad’s fight to be against the Sunnis.

(7) This refers to Zainab Bint Ali (AS), the daughter of Ali (AS). She was taken captive by the Yazid army after the battle of Karbala; a battle in which Imam Hussain (AS), son of Ali (AS) and many of his followers were slain after refusing to surrender to Yazid’s rule (which he perceived as unjust) an act which resulted in the founding of Shiite Islam). She was disgraced by being forced to march unveiled, her suffering is still seen as a rallying cry by many Muslims today, especially in the Shiite community.

(8) Shiite Islamists often invoke Zainab’s name, and the name of Hussain, to justify their murderous actions, calling out: "Ya Zainab!" ("Oh Zainab!"), and see themselves as avenging her deaths. Many pro-Assad Shiite terrorist groups have been set up in Syria, composed mostly of foreign fighters, claiming that they are defending Zainab’s shrine from attacks – the reality is that they slaughter Sunni Muslims for Assad far away from the shrines, with that facade being used to justify their presence in the country. Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas is the best example of such a group. Barakat also made a tribute to their brigade, heavily invoking Zainab’s name to justify the slaughter of Syrians:

(9) Assad is portrayed as a "lion" of Shiite Islam, not as a leader of a united Syria of all sects and faiths. This is clearly an attempt to shore up his power base among his misguided supporters in the Shiite/Alawite minorities. With Iran’s help, Assad has increasingly been trying to integrate the Alawites into the 12er Shiite camp, to further consolidate his rule. Iranian efforts to do this have gone on for some time.

(10) In the context of Syria, this disgusting line needs no explanation.

Also, note the iconography used in the video – Assad, in fascist attire, is plastered alongside the Ba’athist flag, as well as the flag of the extremist Shiite militia Hezbollah (currently slaughtering Syrians on Assad’s behalf all over the country) images of Ali (AS) with his sword zulfiqar, and with lions (possibly used because 'Assad’ means 'lion’ in Arabic), pro-regime thugs stepping on the pre-Ba’athist Syrian flag…

The imagery is highly charged with hatred, but at the same time, also very confusing; even the pro-Assad mobs don’t seem to realise the ridiculous nature of their sectarian propaganda – they eulogise Assad as a leader who "protects" minorities, yet openly portray him as a Shiite/Alawite hero, they utilise 'secular’ imagery (e.g. the Ba’athist flag) alongside Shiite Islamist symbols (isn’t Assad supposed to be an enemy of Islamists? Not if they’re non-Sunni I guess), he is portrayed as the leader of Syria, yet as only leading a fraction of the population… The message is an attempt at coherent sectarian fascism, yet is all over the place.

Much like the argument of those shilling for Assad’s "secularism". Maybe having a look at much of his propaganda will silence that myth once and for all.

For more information on how Iran, Assad and Hezbollah have abused Shiism and invoked sectarianism to further their own ends, see my article on the subject.

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